The long list for the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel has just been announced. Ngaio Marsh Awards, named for "Queen of Crime" Dame Ngaio Marsh, celebrate excellence in New Zealand crime, mystery, and thriller writing.

“I’d like to think Dame Ngaio would be proud of how our modern Kiwi storytellers are continuing her literary legacy, bringing fresh perspectives and a cool mix of fascinating tales to one of the world’s most popular storytelling forms,” said awards founder Craig Sisterson. “In crime and thriller writing it’s natural for authors to make it really tough on their characters,” continued Sisterson, “but our entrants made it tough on our judges too. This year’s long list is a wonderful showcase of Kiwi creativity, with a great range of stories that explore some deep and very important issues in among the page-turning intrigue and thrills.”

The long list is currently being considered by an international judging panel of crime and thriller writing experts from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Finalists for Best Novel, Best First Novel, and Best Nonfiction will be announced in August, with the finalists celebrated and the winners announced as part of a special event held in association with WORD Christchurch later in the year.

Mystery Scene congratulates all the authors here on their success and recognition.

BEST NOVEL LONG LIST

Too Far From Antibes, by Bede Scott (Penguin SEA)
Exit .45, by Ben Sanders (Allen & Unwin)
Remember Me, by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)
Blue Hotel, by Chad Taylor (Brio Books)
Poor People With Money, by Dominic Hoey (Penguin)
The Darkest Sin, by DV Bishop (Macmillan)
The Doctor's Wife, by Fiona Sussman (Bateman Books)
Miracle, by Jennifer Lane
Better the Blood, by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)
In Her Blood, by Nikki Crutchley (HarperCollins)
The Pain Tourist, by Paul Cleave (Upstart Press) 
Blood Matters, by Reneìe (The Cuba Press)
The Slow Roll, by Simon Lendrum (Upstart Press)
Paper Cage, by Tom Baragwanath (Text Publishing)